Disclaimer: I still don't own Inuyasha, though it would be nice if

he was my man slave… Bwahahaha… Just kidding… Oh well, on with the

fic!

Ten days

"Help!" Hojo yelled from somewhere above their heads. Everyone

looked up. Kagome covered her mouth in disbelief.

"So, Priestess, if you ever want to see your cousin again, listen

to what I have to say." He cast an amused glance at Inuyasha and

smiled slightly. "I see you're caught in a bit of a…rub, younger

brother?" Inuyasha snorted. Everyone's jaw dropped as they first

looked at one, and then the other youkai.

"Give Hojo back!" Kagome yelled, with little authority.

Sesshoumaru looked a bit bemused but paid little heed to her.

"Listen carefully. You must take Tetsusaiga out of the protected

shrine and give it to Inuyasha. Bring the Jewel with you through

my territory to the west and come to my castle. You grew up there,

half-brother," he looked pointedly in the hanyou's direction " you

should know the way." With that, the beautiful demon flew off into

the distance.

Kagome and everyone else slowly turned their gazes to the

hanyou attached to the tree.

"Wha-at?" he whined.

"Was that really your brother?" Kagome asked slowly. She looked

slightly…disturbed.

"Hmph," Inuyasha grunted "half-brother thank you very much." Kaede

stepped toward Inuyasha with a thoughtful expression.

"Inuyasha, when was the last time ye remember seeing my sister?"

Kaede inquired.

"What are we standing around for, exactly? We need to go find

Hojo!" Kagome yelled exasperatedly.

"Kagome," Kaede said kindly "we must clear things up between us

and Inuyasha; because we cannot get Hojo back without him."

"We'll see if I help you, old hag." Inuyasha growled.

"So," Kaede turned back to Inuyasha "When do ye last remember

seeing my sister, what happened?"

"Why would I tell you?" He pouted.

"Because." Kagome ran up to him and twisted the arrow again in his

gut.

"Stop, bitch!" he yelped.

"That's why." She said with a satisfied smirk. Ah, how she liked

being right.

"Okay, okay! Fine, shit, you guys really need to take some serious

chill pills." Everyone looked around, no one had the slightest

idea what he meant by that, but they decided not to say anything.

"Well, I had been dating Kikyou for some time and we had finally

decided to marry. That's when she told me about Onigumo. You know,

the burnt guy she was looking after in the cave. I didn't like the

idea that she was looking after a guy in a secluded cave. How was

I supposed to know that he was burnt so crispy that he couldn't

even move?"

"So I decide to visit him on my own devices, without

Kikyou." Inuyasha continued "As I walked up to the cave I heard

him talking to someone, so I listened in. He was talking to a

whole horde of demons! He was talking about how much he loved my

Kikyou and I just couldn't stand it. When he asked the demons to

devour his flesh so that he could have Kikyou, I knew there was

going to be trouble. I drew Tetsusaiga and killed all of the

demons before they had a chance to infest Onigumo. He cursed me

and I turned around after I had finished off the demons and killed

him. Just then Kikyou showed up. I tried to explain, but she

wouldn't hear of it. I told her she should listen to me if we were

to be married. She told me that I should have a little more

compassion for the injured and helpless if I was to marry a

Priestess. We fought and fought about everything under the sun.

That was the day that we were going to announce the engagement to

the village. In the midst of the fight I threw Tetsusaiga down to

emphasize my point of how much of a bitch she was being. I jumped

through the well to take a break for a few days. Finally after ten

days I came back, and here I am." Inuyasha finished his speech and

everyone looked majorly confused, even him. "So, what happened

while I was gone?"

"Well," Kaede sucked in a breath "Ye has been gone for 40 years,

Inuyasha" Inuyasha looked stunned "Kikyou came back to us, holding

Tetsusaiga, a bit angry. She promptly made a shrine for it that

shielded it from demons sensing it, or being able to see it. She

feared that the village would be in danger of attack without ye

being there to defend it. Eventually, in about seven years, we

figured that ye were not coming back. So she married a man from

the Village named Anno and continued to protect the jewel until

she had her first daughter three years later. She also had a son

named Taka who fathered Hojo with a girl named Yui. Rei married

Cheriko at fourteen and had a baby girl at fifteen. That baby girl

looked surprisingly like her grandmother Kikyou and the two

developed a special bond." Kaede paused for a moment, before she

started in on the bloody part of her tale. "When Kagome was ten

years old, five years ago, a white haired dog-demon came,

demanding the Tetsusaiga and tearing the Village apart. He didn't

kill everyone, everyone here was spared; but Kikyou, Anno,

Cheriko, Taka, Rei, Yui, and others from the town perished. I had

to collect the Jewel from Rei and give it to Kagome. Kikyou and

Kagome had made a special pouch to put it in that shielded it from

being seen or sensed by demons. Tetsusaiga was never discovered,

and I have been raising Kagome and Hojo ever since. Hojo became

very interested in Kagome's safety after that attack of the

village and appointed himself her protector. We also acquired some

other protectors from other villages such as a monk named Miroku,

a demon slayer named Sango, and this wolf demon named Kouga. We

always just assumed that ye ran off, became full youkai somehow,

and came back to seek your revenge because Kikyou wouldn't give ye

the Jewel." Kaede shrugged "Now I just assume that ye's brother

attacked the town looking for ye father's sword.

Everyone looked around, a bit confused. Kagome looked

first from Inuyasha to Kaede, then back to Inuyasha. Her eyes

settled on him and a look of pity flashed over her face when

Inuyasha's expression turned from annoyance to realization, then

to sorrow.

"Get me off this damn tree" he said slowly his voice shook

slightly but no one really noticed but Kaede. Kagome's face

changed to controlled annoyance.

"Alright, we need your help anyway and I take it you want revenge

against your brother as much as he wants your sword from you; but

he wants the Jewel too. So this is what I propose." Kagome stepped

forward and looked the hanyou in his slightly swollen amber eyes

"You protect me and a few comrades from the village on our way to

save Hojo. In return, we will return Tetsusaiga to you from the

protected shrine. We must save Hojo and the Jewel, so…"

"What?!" Everyone else yelled.

"What?" Kagome asked sheepishly.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Inuyasha demanded.

"Okay, so I had Hojo watch the Jewel while I took a little bath

and forgot to ask for it back. It's in the pouch so Sesshoumaru

won't find it, hopefully…" she trailed off.

"We have little time, will ye help or not?" Kaede asked. "Because

ye can't defeat him without the Jewel or the Tetsusaiga, and ye

cannot get off that tree without Kagome pulling it out. Even if ye

did get off the tree, ye couldn't find the Tetsusaiga anyway,

since the shrine is still protected. If Sesshoumaru finds the

jewel and takes of it, he will be unstoppable to any other demon;

even ye, Inuyasha." Kaede looked plainly at him "It would be in

ye's best interests to join forces with us."

(A/n: Dun-dun-dun-daaaaaaa! What will he say? Tune in in a coupl'a

hours or days or whatever to find out! If you're still confused,

tell me in your review and I'll try to clear it up, because all of

you are going to review right? Hello? Where'd everybody go???)

*Mwah *

Mumu